MLB Player News

Now that he can be had for the major league minimum, Blackburn will likely quickly be picked up by some team searching for innings. He had a 6.85 ERA in four starts and three relief appearances for the A’s, but his velocity was about as good as ever and his peripherals weren’t too much worse than usual.

García will make his Yankees debut batting in the heart of the lineup after being acquired from the Nationals in a trade over the weekend. The 26-year-old’s left-handed swing should fit beautifully in hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium and he’s in the midst of a career year at the dish, posting an .873 OPS with 23 homers in just 374 plate appearances. His fantasy stock increases exponentially with the move to New York, especially with Aaron Judge (rib) and Cody Bellinger (hamstring) on the shelf for a couple weeks.

Technically, there are games happening shortly after Monday’s trade deadline. The Dodgers picked up backup catcher Ben Rortvedt from the Mets in a small deal, which seems to signal that Rushing could be headed to the injured list. The 25-year-old was scratched from Sunday’s series finale against the Red Sox with a minor arm issue. There should be some clarity on his status in the coming days.

There were some rumblings that Stowers could potentially be on the move ahead of the trade deadline, but that appears unlikely at this juncture. Anything is possible, but Stowers is probably going to stay in Miami after they moved backstop Liam Hicks earlier in the day.

The Blue Jays don’t seem to be mailing it in, so it’s quite possible Varsho stays put, especially since the return likely wouldn’t be very significant. The Padres would likely use him in left, with Gavin Sheets losing some playing time.

All of those teams besides the D-backs have already acquired starters in deadline deals, but Holmes comes with the added bonus of potentially being very valuable out of the pen in October if he isn’t needed as a starter. A deal should happen.

Macko is a 25-year-old left-handed pitcher who was moved to the bullpen this season. He has a 4.91 ERA in 22 innings for the Blue Jays, but he has shown strikeout upside in the minors as a starter before. Macko was Toronto’s 23rd-ranked prospect, according to Baseball America, in their midseason rankings.

Stephan has a 5.44 ERA in 101 innings across 19 starts at Triple-A. The 24-year-old likely remains more of an organizational depth piece.

Moisés Ballesteros and right-hander Mason McGwire are going to the Angels. With his exceptional 33.5 percent strikeout rate, the 28-year-old Zeferjahn has overcome his control issues enough to post a 3.66 ERA in 51 2/3 innings this year. He was occasionally closing for the Angels and could do the same in Chicago, at least until Daniel Palencia returns. He won’t be a free agent until 2030. The Angels will rely more on Sam Bachman and Kirby Yates, though Yates is also an obvious candidate to be traded.

According to The Athletic’s Dennis Lin, the Giants are paying about half of the $9 milllion or so Ray is owed, including a portion of his $1 million trade bonus. Ray will join Michael King and Walker Buehler in a Padres rotation that could get Nick Pivetta and/or Joe Musgrove back at the end of the month. Another bat would be nice, but the chances of a late run are looking up. Ray, 34, had a 3.08 ERA in 122 2/3 innings for the Giants. He’s at 1.09 while focusing on his sinker in his last seven starts.

It’s unclear if Smith will have a regular role in Toronto. As of now, it seems likely that he could back up at 2B, 3B, SS, and LF and hope to recoup some of his value heading into arbitration.